Re: Mirabilis

They (the small-flowered magenta form only) grows relatively wild in parking strips (the space between the sidewalk/pavement/footpath and the street) in this part of Berkeley.  No doubt spread by birds, and they have been here for decades.  There is normally no rain here for a 6 month period each year.  Where they get no supplemental water, they tend to grow about 20-35 cm in height.  Where they get watered, they grow to about 1.2 meters high and wide.  I have never noticed a fragrance, although I can easily detect the fragrance of Brugmansia and Cestrum nocturnum which grow nearby.  In San Francisco, I have also seen yellow and white forms, but also never noticed any fragrance.

Richard Starkeson
San Francisco

Richard La Rose Boudreaux wrote:

>Here in the Girona region of Catalunya in Northeastern Spain Mirabilis grows 
>everywhere. They self-seed and pop up everywhere including places where I don't want them to pop up.  They
>tend  to spread, get "leggy" and sometimes rob the sun from other plants.  I've 
>even seen them growing along the sides of country roads where they obviously 
>don't get watered and have thrived through this year's near drought 
>conditions.  The lady next door to me waters hers and they have grown to a 
>height of 5 or 6 feet and almost as wide.
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